Biloxi lawyer spent friend’s $215,000 at casino, bar complaint says. Now, she’s being sued
Biloxi attorney Danielle Brewer Jones spent “at the casino” $215,000 from her law firm trust account that belonged to a friend, a complaint filed with the Mississippi Supreme Court says.
The Mississippi Bar is asking the court to suspend Jones for at least six months, while the former friend, Janie McDonald, is suing Jones for $3 million in damages.
In the civil lawsuit, McDonald accuses Jones of embezzlement and fraud, saying their friendship ended because Jones used her law firm trust account to steal the money.
McDonald, who lives in Destin, Florida, says in her lawsuit that Jones paid back $35,000 in increments, but stopped paying in September 2023.
Jones has not been charged with a crime. In a response filed in the lawsuit, Jones denies any wrongdoing and says she does not owe McDonald any money. She further says McDonald “should be barred from any relief requested.”
Jones has not responded to a telephone message from the Sun Herald about the case.
McDonald’s lawsuit, filed by attorney Mitchell Owen of Gulfport, says: “Prior to this transaction, Danielle and Janie were personal friends separate from their business dealings. Janie sought Danielle’s guidance during this transaction and accepted the advice of Danielle to have the funds wired to The Brewer Law Office PLLC Trust Account . . . “
Case filed as civil lawsuit
The money was for a boat slip in Destin’s Grand Harbor. The lawsuit says McDonald sold the boat slip in February 2022 to a Lubbock, Texas, couple. McDonald found it “secure and easier” for Jones to handle the couple’s wire transactions of $250,000 for the slip, the lawsuit says.
McDonald’s lawsuit says she was not being legally represented by Jones or charged for the service.
“Janie was under the impression that this was a friendly gesture on the part of Danielle and once the funds cleared The Brewer Law Office PLLC Trust Account, Danielle would then release the funds to Janie.”
The civil lawsuit accuses Jones of fraud in convincing McDonald to go along with the wire transfer, wire fraud over the transfer, and embezzlement.
McDonald seeks $1 million in compensation for the money owed, and for emotional and financial anguish. She’s seeking $2 million in punitive damages. U.S. District Judge Taylor McNeel is presiding over the case, with a settlement conference set for March 25.
MS bar complaint pending
McDonald asked “multiple times” in 2022 for the money owed to her by her longtime friend, the Mississippi Bar complaint says. Finally, in November 2022, Jones repaid $7,500.
McDonald asked “repeatedly” for the money in 2023, when the attorney eked out three payments of under $10,000 each, the bar complaint says. The last payment was on Sept. 22, 2023.
Things came to a head in December 2023, when Jones promised to deliver the balance owned but failed to do so. Instead, Jones confessed when the women met that she “had spent the remainder of Ms. McDonald’s funds at the casino,” the complaint says.
McDonald filed a bar complaint against Jones in January 2024. The bar duly investigated, requesting Jones’ trust account records from January 2022 forward and any corresponding ledgers. Jones has not responded to the “lawful demand” for those records, the MS bar says.
The bar complaint says Jones violated the Rules of Professional Conduct that the state Supreme Court adopted for lawyers by doing the following:
- Failing to separate third-party funds from her own property.
- Not promptly notifying a third party when their funds were received.
- Failing to respond to a disciplinary authority’s lawful demand for information.
- Engaging in conduct that involves dishonesty, fraud, deceit, or misrepresentation.
